Laura Flores workshop

Can you give a workshop to the Mums of Laura Flores?

Sure thing!

So I agreed to give this workshop to the Mums. The idea was to give some ideas of communicating with their children and some activities and games for them to do in the house. This workshop would be fairly easy in England. I probably wouldn’t prepare all that much for it. I would rummage in my toy box and take a bag full of games and resources and we would have a play. I would model to the Mum’s how to play the games with their children, to communicate most effectively. It would not be too difficult. Most parents would have lots of toys and games in their houses. Most children are overloaded with stimulation since they were born.

The Mums and children working together

Giving this workshop in Laura Flores was much more of a challenge. The fact it was in Spanish did not bother me. I would get by. I know I do not speak well in Spanish but there would be people there who could re-word things so the mums could understand. I found it difficult to prepare for because the culture here is so different. Laura Flores in itself is different. I had visited several people’s houses in LF so knew the sort of lives they lead, what they had in their houses, had spoken with many parents before and worked with their children. I knew that they did not have much in their houses. I don’t remember seeing any toys. I know that the children play outside, in the streets. Young children. Really, as soon as they can walk, they are outside “playing” with their brothers and sisters. They do not have anything to play with. Occasionally the boys find a ball and play football. Sometimes a girl might have an old dolly. Normally they just run around, go into each other’s houses, pop into the church if something is happening, eat, sleep, and watch their mums. There is not a real time of “play”.

 

So I had all this of what I know about LF in my head as I planned the workshop. It would be a waste of time to show them nice games and toys when I know they do not have them. I had to be resourceful. So using toilet roll tubes filled with rice as instruments, collected bottle tops to colour sort, recycled paper to make a counting card game and a few other things I had collected along the way, I set off to LF. It was a particularly hot LF afternoon. The sun was beating down on the aluminium roof, the sun’s rays were streaming in through the “windows” and as the workshop progressed, it got hotter and hotter. It wasn’t the best workshop I have done. As it was so hot and I was so tired, I seemed to lose all my Spanish words. It was a funny mix of playing games with the children, talking to the adults, trying not to touch the flea ridden stray dogs wandering in and out and trying not to overheat. The joys to Ecuador!

God's creation

“This world is God’s creation. Nothing is objective; everything has personal value attached to it. God is the creator and therefore has personal feeling for everything he has made. Every atom, molecule and neutron is his artwork. He values every centimeter of space that he has brought into existence. As we wander through this universe we are not encountering meaningless stuff, we encounter a chipmunk, a river, a child that is God beloved artwork. An art gallery filled with objects of meaning, expressiveness, revelation of Gods heart, intelligence, humor, compassion and whimsy. We are not on public property, nor privately owned property. We are always on God’s property, on loan to us. Everything has some amount of value, not to us, but to God.” – McLarren



Completly unedited photo of this evenings sunset. Amazing.



London

Today, randomly on the TV, was a documentary about London. I sat and watched it. Surprisingly it brought tears to my eyes. That was my Country that I was watching. There were rainy/grey days, black cabs, red telephone boxes, buses, glimpses of England! It made me realise things I had missed.

Today, I had a special Easter lunch with the family. Fanesca is a soup with lots of grains and beans in it. Followed by mashed potato, eggs, cheese on lettuce. Whilst the girls were preparing it, they had some pineapple on the side, next to the cheese. I asked if they would eat the cheese and pineapple together. It seemed a strange combination to me. They said they had heard that it tastes quite good, but at that moment, I thought it sounded bizarre. It wasn’t until about an hour later that I realised in England, we do that! We eat cheese and pineapple of cocktails sticks at parties. I had totally forgotton!

El Coca





Family boat trip down the river

Last weekend I went to visit some of my extended Ecuadorian family in El Coca in the Jungle region of Ecuador. 4 of us took an overnight bus up and over the mountains and headed into the jungle. We arrived at 4:30 in the morning, had a quick game of Jenga (which became the game of the whole weekend, with the loser having to wash the plates of the next meal!) 

Wild monkeys in El Coca

It was a great time to visit family and I feel very blessed to feel included in this 



family. We went for a walk into the town, saw the monkeys in the trees,

 ate some worms, had a river trip and swam in the river. We ate lots of yummy food and shared lots of laughs. It was a great time.



Cooking the shellfish and maduros on the BBQ

Improvising...parasole for the rain, dodgey wiring for the lamp whilst cooking the BBQ

Very yummy dinner...



River Napo

Beautiful

Complements

3.4.12 

Today has been a good day. I helped finish off the last few jobs that needed doing to make the school ready for the kids on the 9^th. It has been painted, cleaned and tidied. Whilst the teachers and other people in the charity held a meeting about the future of the charity, I did some cleaning. Having a good imagination is vital in using the resources available. I did contemplate cleaning the floors and toilets with washing powder until I sought out some bleach! I had a few minutes to think about being here, cleaning toilets and wondering why I was doing it willingly, for free!? I wanted it to be nice and clean for the children and wanted to serve them.

I was able to spend time talking with my parents today. It is always good to hear news from home, even though recently, news always seems to be sad. Still, God is good and is definitely my strength.

In the afternoon I spent time with one of the teachers, going through Language Therapy resources and helping her with her planning. It was a good time together. She was very patient with my Spanish and I was very patient with her as I explained some tasks.

Despite hearing sad news, today has been good and surprisingly full of complements and encouragements. I think they were God given.

Nationality

I was asked last week by a teenage American girl if I was from Ecuador and just spoke really good English! It really made me laugh, thinking about how un-Ecuadorian I look!




Do I look Ecuadorian!?

Stop. Reflect

I have kept myself busy today and now that it is quiet, I can reflect on today.

Today was a great morning, explaining some of my Speech and Language Therapy resources to the teachers in the school. It was great to again, impart some of what I know and have learnt in the UK, to others who don’t know. It is part of why I came here. Following this we had a great time of conversation and laughing and joking together. I really liked the fact that I could now understand conversations and have enough Spanish to join in.


2 of the younger children washing each others feet



Can you guess who won the game!?

After a quick stop for lunch, I went back out, to Orphaids. This week I am helping at an afternoon club. The kids love it; games, stories, craft etc. They are all so excited and it is infectious. Tiring, but good! We are working through the story of Jesus, leading up to his death and resurrection; the Easter story. Today we washed each other’s feet and thought about the last supper Jesus shared with his friends.

Banner that was made the first day



Now, in a time of quiet, I can really think about my friends and family at home. The struggles that they are going through. The challenges life presents to them. It seems like daily news that another person has cancer or illnesses. Treatments that have been tried, Surgeries undertaken, Doctor’s reports that no more medical treatment can be offered. People struggling, new illnesses occurring, broken ankles, flooded kitchens, and struggles at work. Life is not easy. It is not easy for people here in Ecuador. Equally, it is not easy in England either.

I left my work this morning, with a real sense of wondering why I am leaving at the end of April. I so want to stay longer working in this school; working with the teachers, working together to help these children have a better life. Now at the end of the day, I wonder if some of why I need to go home is to support a few people? Just being with people, visiting people, drinking tea, chatting about life, asking questions, encouraging, supporting and just being there. I guess it doesn’t matter where you are, you can be an encouragement?